The present invention relates generally to pressing molds for holding and pressing foodstuff, such as ham pieces, while it is being cooked and more particularly to a mold in combination with a hermetically sealed wrap containing such a foodstuff wherein the wrap includes main and lateral secondary pouches with a passage arrangement between them for enabling exudate expelled from the foodstuff during cooking to flow from the main to the secondary pouches, and to a method using such molds and wraps. The invention also relates to a stackable set of pressing molds including a plurality of such molds mounted on a frame fitted with a footing.
According to one prior art technique, foodstuff, such as ham pieces, is placed inside a mold and the foodstuff temperature is raised to about 68xc2x0 C. over a time of approximately 10 h. During this time, the ham pieces expel an exudate including brine used in a pickling operation, water, gases and other liquids. During such cooking, each mold is covered by a lid that applies pressure to the cooked object to enhance exudate expulsion. The exudate can be evacuated directly from the mold, in which case the exudate soils the molds and sanitary problems are incurred.
To circumvent the problems associated with such direct evacuation, ham pieces have previously been wrapped before cooking in hermetically sealed wraps which are loose enough that only a portion of the wrap covers the ham pieces and the other portion of the wrap is folded. The expelled exudate remains stagnant in the wrap until cooking is completed when it is evacuated from the wrap by piercing the wrap. This solution is not wholly satisfactory because it imparts to the ham an appearance which is unsettling to the consumer.
In another solution, a main pouch holding the ham is fitted with a secondary pouch shaped in such a way that the exudate drains by gravity and then is collected. This step is followed by welding the secondary pouch so it is insulated from the main pouch. The secondary pouch is then cut from the main pouch. This arrangement does not enable the cooked and pressed food product to be easily sliced in a market.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved pressing mold for holding a wrap containing a product to be cooked and offering a solution comprising one main pouch and at least one secondary pouch.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a pressing mold is provided for receiving and pressing a foodstuff, such as ham pieces, as it is being cooked. The foodstuff is hermetically sealed in a main pouch of a wrap including at least one secondary pouch laterally displaced from the main pouch. The wrap includes a segment between the main and secondary pouches including a passage arrangement between the main and secondary pouches for enabling exudate expelled from the foodstuff during cooking and pressing to flow laterally from the main pouch to the secondary pouch during the cooking and pressing. The mold comprises a cover for pressing the foodstuff in the main pouch during cooking and for enabling the foodstuff to expel the exudate. At least one transverse wall inside the mold forms a boundary for a main volume that received the main pouch. The mold includes at least one secondary volume for receiving the lateral pouch. The at least one transverse wall has an upper edge arranged so a space is subtended between the upper edge and the cover in a manner to prevent pinching of the passage arrangement in the wrapper segment between the main pouch and the at least one lateral pouch situated above the corresponding partition.
Such a mold preferably assumes the shape of an elongated chute. A given number of chutes also may be affixed to a frame resting on a footing.
Advantageously, the length of the cover is less than the distance between two transverse partitions or between one partition and an end wall.
In another feature of the invention, the partition(s) is (are) fitted with lateral recesses to provide a passage between the partition and the side wall of the mold to allow folds of the wrap to be received in the mold.
Advantageously, the length of the upper edge of the partition(s) between a pair of notches is larger than the total width of a flange of the wrap.
In another feature of the invention, the partition(s) is (are) designed in such a way that, within the main volume, at the intersection of a side wall of the mold and the partition, reserve volumes are formed to house the folds of the wraps. To form the reserve volumes, the partition(s) is (are) advantageously fitted with two lateral bends pointing toward the bottom of the mold to form two lateral bent parts sloping toward the mold end. The slope of the lateral bent parts is advantageously between 15xc2x0 and 30xc2x0.
The present invention also relates to a stackable set of a plurality of the aforementioned molds mounted on a frame fitted with a footing.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of cooking and pressuring a foodstuff, such as ham pieces, that exudes an exudate during cooking and pressing, wherein the foodstuff is located in a main pouch of a hermetically sealed wrap including a lateral secondary pouch displaced to the side of the main pouch and connected to the main pouch by a segment of the wrap. The segment includes a passage arrangement between the main and lateral pouches. The method comprises placing the wrap with the foodstuff hermetically sealed therein in a mold having a partition between first and second compartments into which the main and lateral pouches are respectively placed. Then a cover is placed on the mold so that the passage arrangement between the main and lateral pouches remains open. Then the foodstuff is cooked while (a) the mold pressurizes the foodstuff via the wrap, (b) maintaining the foodstuff in a hermetically sealed state in the wrap, (c) keeping the passage arrangement open, and (d) forcing the exudate laterally from the main pouch to the lateral pouch via the open passage arrangement. The passage arrangement is kept open by providing a large enough space between a top edge of the partition and a bottom face of the cover.
Preferably, substantial flow of the exudate in the lateral pouch to the main pouch is prevented after cooking and pressing by sealing the passage arrangement after cooking and pressing. Then the segment is cut to separate the lateral pouch with the exudate therein from the main pouch.
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed descriptions of one specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.